Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Remembering Sun and Sand...and...

Well we are home again and not we have to try to get back into the swing of things...work...ugggh!
It will help a little to remember all the wonderful times we had in Greece with sun, sand and food along with the interesting places we visited.
To help keep all those memories alive we have posted all the links to the places we visited and the routes we drove, the hotels where we stayed, and the restaurants where ate and some of the most wonderful sites...all of this is located on the permanent Greece Again! page at the sideline.
Check it out!
Greece 2012

Sunday, October 14, 2012

We've been ruined!

These are the last days of our trip to Greece and we have done a complete circle of the country taking in as many ancient sites we could possibly find (gotta love GPS). We have had a few mis-steps, missed roads, and even a few back tracks (not many). We have used maps, GPS, google and plain dead reckoning to get where we are going. We have not had to cancel any hotel reservation due to an inability to find the place. Only one cancellation by choice not chance.



 What we loved the most was that both of us have (from a very early age) loved the mythology of Greece, are both very interested in archeology, and we love trying new food!

These characteristics have been a saving grace as we meandered our way up and down mountains, along valleys, and plateaus, and through tiny village streets. We always had in mind the next ancient location, the next palace, the next cultural mystery...to encourage us and keep us on track. The roads have been challenging and the vistas have ranged from the breathtaking to the sublime! Sunrises and sunsets...


We have relaxed with good books and each other! We have eaten some interesting combinations of dishes that may have otherwise gone untried. We have made a few friends and have some idea of the places where we will return. We have found nooks and crannies of peace in a world of hectic noise and enjoyed just being.


It seems the ruins and food of Greece have ruined us and we will return for more of the same!

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Brown as a Berry...full as an egg!

We have a couple of sayings in Newfoundland that fit this situation perfectly... I am as brown as a berry and as full as an egg...Now one might ask... what does this mean?



Well, now let me explain... last night after dinner Don asked if I wanted to get some ice cream...usually the answer would be a resounding yes!



But, I am as full as an egg...which means that I cannot eat anything more...he continues with... but ice cream just fills in the coners! That's when the fight began...no just kidding. I said I am full as an egg (round rather than oval) I don't have corners anymore!

The days relaxing and site-seeing have been all sunny and I have not been adverse to keeping the companies who produce sun block in business! So, even though I have kept up with the sun block I am quite brown...as a berry!

Old sayings come in handy some times to explain the unexplainable...as in why someone would not want ice cream!

Don and the Lamborghini

Well we did not expect that Don would have the opportunity to see let alone sit in the seat and drive a Lamborghini...

When we drove up to our hotel in a very small town (about 100 people) called Tsoutsouros we parked right next to a Lamborghini...Dons eyes nearly popped out of his head. He said our loud "I wonder who owns that?"

Well, we went for our swim, went for dinner, went to town...and when we returned the Lamborghini was still there. Maybe the hotel owner owns the Lamborghini?

Don frets over this all night!

The next morning the two older people sitting on the front porch of the hotel say hello as we go for a morning swim...they are friendly and happy! As we come back to the hotel Don is wondering if he should ask them who owns the Lamborghini...and then out of no where he asks...and they wave him to it and say go ahead sit, sit...he asks for a picture...I am quite purple by this time...they say yes, yes go ahead take pictures!!!!!

So, here it is ...Don driving the Lamborghini...





 

Olive trees and .... have never seen so many!

Greece is a wonderful country full of richness and fruit of every description. We have seen olive trees (forests) everywhere we went. We have also seen oranges, figs, plums, pears, apples, peaches, apricots, grapes (of course) and yesterday bananas... I expected a lot of fruit trees but not ....




















greenhouses!

The country is warm most of the year so why the towns of greenhouses? The growing season here is most likely two or even three crops per year. I was amazed at how many greenhouses there are in many places in Greece from north to south...literally greenhouse landscape the size of fairly large towns. Actually larger than some towns here...
 
But then there are always the olive groves...nicely laid out against the harshest of landscapes... this is Greece!


 

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Tie up your dogs and let your goats run wild!



On mainland Greece we noticed many times that there were many places where the sheep or goats were watched very carefully by herd dogs...not the ordinary Sheppard we are used to but very large white and black colored dogs that mingled freely with the sheep or goats.  Greek Sheep dog
We were told that a farmer or goat/sheep herder would count the dogs at the end of the day not the goats or sheep. If there was a dog missing it meant that the dog was guarding a missing sheep or goat. The dog will not leave the goat or sheep alone at night. The dogs are raised with the sheep/goats and protect them staunchly.

But, here on the Island of Crete we have seen a number of large herds of goats just running wild with no person and no dogs guarding them! We wondered about this and then we saw that there were dogs tied up at homes and workshops. So, here on Crete the dogs do not guard the animals but are tied up and the animals run wild. Interesting! We will watch to see if this changes...
Well today we did see more goats and sheep on the road but they were fenced into pastures...but still no dogs guarding them.
We have now learned from a few conversations that the herders let the sheep graze up on the mountains and take their dogs out to bring them in... I guess there are no predators here on Crete (other than humans).
 

Up the mountain...down the mountain...to the sea

Day 20 Stavros to Plakias via southern route

Well I think we did the most switchbacks today than ever before. We counted 27 switchbacks and 37 big curves getting from the top of a mountain to the ocean at the bottom. The road in most places was only one car wide and the car coming up the hill had to wait for the car coming down the hill to make the turn before it proceeded around the turn...
The shoreline here is very rugged with a lot of rock and jagged cliffs. But, the sea is like a song with the waves crashing melodically on the shore just meters from our patio door! The deep blue Aegean waters are stunningly bright with the whitecaps rolling toward the shore and breaking on the large black rocks.

 

The power went out in the entire town of Plakias as we were walking from the Taverna where we ate dinner back to the hotel tonight. We had a wonderful medley of samplings of Cretan food at the Sophia resturant.


You are wondering (no doubt) why so many times the food is half eaten before we take a picture...simple answer...it looks so good we forget to take the picture first! I am getting better at remembering the picture but Don still digs in to the food first!

So, we had nothing to do but star watch...Don pulled a big, thick blanket from the cabinet , took the pillows from the bed and put it all out on the balcony. We laid there and watched the stars moving across the dark velvet sky with no lights to be seen at all! It was pure magic....not something that will be easily forgotten.

 

From Delphi to ...Ahhhh beautiful Crete!

Day 18 Part 1: Delphi to Athens airport to fly on Aegean Airlines

Well the day started pretty good with a nice breakfast and then the ancient site of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi Temple of Apollo at Delphi
as well as the Temple of Athena. Temple of Athena
Really enjoyed the climb up and down the mountains. Both sites are well preserved and he paths are easy to navigate. We took lots of pictures as usual and discussed our own versions of what may have happened here 2000 years ago. The museum was also great...


We laughed about walking on the same stones as the ancients did and asked the Oracle what the weather would be like for the rest of our trip... sunny and warm with no chance of rain!


We drove straight through to Athens and ended up at the airport a few hours earlier than we planned but that was OK because neither of us like the stress of trying to cut things to close. The Athens airport as usual was a hectic enviornment. We found the line for Aegean airlines and stood in line for about 30 minutes before we made it to the counter to be told we could not check our bags because this line was only for the flight to Frankfurt...ok go and stand in another line for 30 minutes! Got the bags checked and then found our boarding gate...stand in line for another 30 minutes. Wait no...we cannot go through security because they have reserved this security check point for the flight going to Milan which is late... ok would be nice to know this...some signs would be appreciated... and the lady came and asked if we were lined for gate B1...yes...but no one mentioned the Milan flight!
Ok go get something to eat to wait for the time to go through security for Chania, Crete!
Finally made it through security and made the uneventful flight to Chania.
The airport at Chania was worse than Athens...it was lined three or four rows deep from one end of the airport to the other and out the door and along the complete sidewalk with people waiting to check in for flights to the Scandinavian countries... we couldn't believe the number of people!
The person who delivered our rental car (camel) said it was like this four days a week... oh boy! This was supposed to be a open car... the only thing open abut it was the doors! The roof did not fully open, the bak did not fold down nor did the zippers to take off the windows work,,,it was a mess! We ended up changing it for a closed car!


 

Sunday, October 7, 2012

And the Oracle of Delphi says...

Day 17 Volos to Delphi with stop at Thermopolae



Delphi, of monumental importance in the ancient world is now a small town of hotels and restrauants serving the tourist trade. Delphi, Greece
All of us who go to visit the Temple of Opollo and the Temple of Athena at Delphi are still amazed at the structures and the monuments constructed so long ago. Also the long treck most travellers from Athens and all over the known world would make to seek guidance from the Oracle...the mouth piece of the ancients gods! Kings and politicians would consult her about the prudence of fighting a war or about how the city state would fare in an earthquake... and so on. Delphi
Our hotel Arion was great with a nice quiet little room over looking the valley with olive groves as far as the eye could see! Arion Hotel
We had a nice dinner perched on a balcony restrauant that slanted slightly unevenly when sitting down. It made me feel that this may not be the safest place during one of Greece's many earthquakes...and possibly why the floor slanted in the first place! Phivos Restaurant
But we were hungry and I was hoping for a fantastic view with the wonderful lemon pork we were promised. Yes, I said it...lemon pork...this will be included on any future menu as it was succlent, sweet, and melt-in-your-mouth goodness that can only be proven by tasting.

Don had a moussaka (suprise!) and he rated it a clear 7.5 (I was getting worried at one point when he said he would definately order this moussaka again).

A green romaine lettuce salad with dill and green onions dressed lightly with oil and sweet vinigar completed it , and we topped it off with a creamy rich slice of Caramel pie!

So, the Oracle says there is good eating in Delphi! Pictures of Delphi

A Good Change...of Plan





The breakfast at the Atlantis Hotel was great for a second day... ate and off to an early start.
 

Don says "Sometimes I wake up grumpy...but sometimes I let her sleep". Well this was one of the times he should have let me sleep. I woke up in (not a great mood) a bit of a bother! And had a grump on most of the day...but that did not phase Don from tormenting me mercilessly!

Volos and Pictures

We arrived in Volos just in time for the noon rush hour (yeah, yeah, yeah...I know you've heard this all before!) and decided to drive past our Hotel to get a bearing where it was in relation to everything else. Well it was in the middle of everything else! The waterfront was closeby but could not be seen or heard over the din of the traffic. I wanted to stop at the Hotel but Don wanted to continue on...well you can imagine how that went over...not big!

We drove through Volos and decided to continue on to Mount Pelion (where the mythical Achiles trained with the centaur Charon).  Mount Pelion We did a circle of Mount Pelion... Mount Pelion which is not at all for the faint of heart! These were some of the most daring roads we have driven in Greece. They were steep, narrow, with many switch backs but also there were no side barriers to a straight down drop of a few hundred meters. This is a photo of us on the top of Mount Pelion.
 
This is the google map of our route around Mount Pelion: Route Mount Pelion

It seems I was scared out of my grump and felt much better by the time we dcided not to stay at the Hotel we booked but to find a different one near the beach...somewhere.

We drove past Volos, through three nearby villages and no Hotel in sight we almost turned back to Volos. But one last attempt proved successful...we found a wonderful little hotel right on the beach in Nea Anchialos. I walked in, asked for a room, and saw two lovely rooms...for much less than what we would have paid at the congested, downtown hotel in Volos. Happy, happy, joy, joy...we got our bags up to the room and went for a swim! Hotel Opollo

Then the next order of business was to fill the gap created by all that swimming...food!


The restrauant right next to the hotel (Glaxious Fish Taverna) was a fish restrauant (Psyeria...fish). Not much convincing needed here.

The owner was marvelous! He waited on us hand and table! We did not completely understand the correct way to order "snacks and Tsipouro" . Tsipouro is a drink similar to Ouzo but can be drunk with or without the Anise flavouring. We decided to have one of each. It arrives at the table in ...little teeny, tiny bottles (which is all we could drink anyway).

But this is the part we didn't understand ...each bottle comes with a plate of 'snacks'...sardines with capers and a wonderful home made cabbage salad for the one bottle of 'drink' and the other bottle with perch and celery/dill/onions. The bread is always complementary and comes with a superb eggplant dip (similar to baba ganoush but chunkier). So, now we had three plates of food, bread and drink and we had ordered eggplant, zuchini, and two mains of fried and grilled squid...wait a minute...that is enough food for about eight people. Ohhh the food fiasco from Turkey was returning for a second go at us! Had we understood how it worked we would only have ordered snacks and drinks! But take a look at these squid and you will understand everything...

Don's squid were grilled...there were about 4 squid about 8" long...


My squid were fried and there was about a half dozen about 4" long with fried potatos...
A beautiful thick Greek yogurt topped with cherries and syrup was complementary from the owner for dessert!

Well we didn't leave hungery so...back to the hotel to have a good night sleep for an early rise.

Friday, October 5, 2012

A Lovely Little Hotel

We arrived in Thessaloniki at rush hour...not good planning! This city has the worst traffic congestion that I have seen yet in Greece. And parking....oh my goodness...some one could make a million just building a four level parking garage and charging half what everyone else does for parking! We actually saw streets lined triple parked...with extra cars with four way blinkers turned on!!Thessaloniki and Pictures

We made our way around the central core five times before finding our Hotel which was tucked in between a bakery and a shoe store...one door wide and very long. It was a bit of a surprise as it was indeed a gem in a mass of a city downtown core! Hotel Atlantis . We checked out the room and choose one at the back of the Hotel. It was clean and nice and the bed/pillow were comfy..with air and fridge and bonus hair dryer!

We decided we had not covered enough miles that day so decided to walk down to the waterfront to check out the restaurants... another miscalculation ... but not to worry we walked until we found one that suited us and finally sat down! Whew...we had a nice but not exceptional dinner. http://www.greecetravel.com/thessaloniki/


I wondered on the way back to the Hotel why I had not brought more than one pair sandals and seriously considered buying another pair as it seemed I was wearing these ones out just trying to find a suitable restaurant. http://www.aldoshoes.com/ca-eng/women/shoes?cm_mmc=Google-_-CEO%20Campaign-_-CEO%20Shoes-_-shoes

We arrived back at the hotel none the worse for wear. Our front desk person was great and knew so much about the town, the sights, the traffic and just about anything else we could ask about. He and Don had a number of long conversations. He told us where we could bring our laundry to be done and picked up after the museum...but we walked around for an hour and couldn't find it...finally there it was...mission accomplished.

We stayed here for two nights and the next day we went to the museum. This was a wonderful experience as it was well laid out and very accessible from the parking lot where we (I think inadvertently) parked our car in a secured area! Pictures We joked on the way back to the car that the guards may have let us in because they did not understand what we were asking (where is the Museum parking?) and that maybe the car would be gone if some one checked the plate numbers against the numbers that were supposed to be there! He he he... Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki 
We decided to go out to the town (Neo Roda) where the Persians cut through a finger of land (actually dug a canal wide enough to fit two boats across). It was an interesting ride but not much to see except a sign.   But, Don enjoyed it anyway. Pictures 
 




It was my birthday (and Daisy too) so we decided to have a big birthday dinner and our Hotel front desk person told us a great Gyros place...Express Food and it was merely minutes from the front door. We ordered too much food again and had a great dinner.
 
Then for the birthday cake we ordered two (not one) but two marvelous pastries from a nearby bakery. One caramel and cream and one french pastry filled with cream!!!!!! Oh the absolute decadence...I mean goodness of it!






Back to the hotel to enjoy an Ouzo and have an early night.